


A New Beginning

by Kiterie



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-07-29
Updated: 2011-07-29
Packaged: 2017-11-28 04:46:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/670427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiterie/pseuds/Kiterie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It starts because Tenten wonders if she and Neji are friends or something more.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Tenten paced back and forth in the one room apartment, the floor boards creaking loudly in the silence. She looked at the clock and watched the numbers tick over to the new hour. Already it was two, and she hadn't been able to sleep at all. Her eyes drifted to the cell phone sitting beside it. It cost her a lot to use, and it only worked inside the village, but she knew he was home, and it would be more than worth it to hear his voice. She reached for it and then looked at the time again. Pulling her hand away and huffing out a frustrated breath she turned away.

 _'Maybe Hinata misunderstood,'_ she wondered, walking over to the window and looking out over the houses and other buildings. It was hard to know if he really did think she was too good for him without knowing the exact words he'd used. Hinata had refused to tell her since she'd let it slip on accident in the first place and didn't want to betray his confidence.

Flopping down on her futon, Tenten grabbed the leather photo album that she kept beside it, that _he_ had given her, and flipped it open. She turned the pages slowly, studying the pictures and thinking about all the moments they captured. Until recently she'd believed that it was all in her head, the looks that seemed to last a few moments longer than they should, the touches that weren't really necessary. It was all too easily explained by the fact that they were friends and teammates, but... Maybe that's all they were, but maybe, just maybe, they were more. Smiling and setting the album aside, she stretched out and stared at the ceiling. "You drive me crazier than Gai and Lee combined, you know that, Neji?"

She laid there, her mind turning things in circles, until the walls began to glow a bright orange, and then she gave up and got up. She'd be exhausted later, but it was pointless to lay there when they would have to meet up in an hour. Even if she did fall asleep it wouldn't be for long enough to matter.

Getting dressed, she ducked out, locked the door, crept down the stairs, and stepped outside into the cool morning air. Even a year after the war, things were still not the same. Despite help, most of the trees were still growing back. Team practices had been moved to the forest beyond the village. Turning, Tenten leapt to the rooftops, heading out over them in the direction of where her team would meet up. Waving to the guard on duty, she dashed through the gate and turned to follow the newly constructed wall.

One minute she was alone save for the birds and squirrels and the next-- there he was. Tenten stopped and stared, surprised to see him despite the fact that he would obviously be going to their team's meeting spot as well. It was the way he just stood there under the trees staring directly at her like-- he'd been waiting for her.

Tenten's heart skipped a beat, and she swallowed, feeling oddly nervous. She opened her mouth, wanting to ask if he was waiting for her, and realized she couldn't. The words simply wouldn't come out.

Neji smiled, but didn't move or speak. The breeze stirred, and several leaves drifted down over him.

She was crazy; she knew then she had to be. Looking down, she watched her feet move forward. As silly as it seemed she was mezmerized by her own steps. It wasn't until she was right in front of him, their toes separated by strip of grass no wider than her hand, that she stopped.

If she was wrong... The way he'd been looking at her rose in her mind. Lee had never looked at her that way, and _they_ were friends too. Nobody she knew of had ever looked at her like that.

"Tenten..."

Her name caught her attention, and she looked up.

Neji swallowed, his cheeks turning a faint pink, but he didn't say anything, just stood there staring at her.

It _wasn't_ her imagination, and she knew he felt it too: the 'pause', the  silence between them that seemed tangible enough to touch. He wouldn't do it though, he would never, and she knew it. Lifting herself up on her toes she pressed a chaste kiss to his lips.

His eyes widened for a moment and then his lips parted very slightly under hers, and he returned the kiss.

Her eyes slid shut, and for a moment the only part of them that touched was their lips. Then a hand touched her elbow, and she pulled back, her cheeks burning and her heart thudding loudly in her ears. Opening her eyes she smiled up at him, happy and embarrassed at the same time.

Sliding his fingers down the back of her arm, Neji caught her hand. "I was waiting for you."

It occurred to her then that this spot was right where their paths crossed if they left their houses and headed for their team's meet up point. Tenten giggled realizing he probably had just been waiting for her to go train with Lee and Gai-sensei. Even if she had caught him by surprise with the kiss, he seemed to be okay with it. Maybe she was wrong, and she'd imagined all the looks, but either way she was right _now_. More importantly though, she was right where she belonged, at his side. "Good, because I was looking for you."


	2. Baby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Every child is a hope.

Tenten picked up the brush, letting the weight of it settle in her hands. The large calligraphy brush was nearly the size of a sword. It was as heavy as one and this particular one, she noted, was weighted similarly. It was the eighth one she had examined. "This one."

Beside her, Neji raised an eyebrow then nodded. Pulling out several coins he handed them over to the vendor silently.

Looking towards the beach and stepping away from the beach side stall, Tenten smiled. Wood and stone cut toys littered the otherwise empty beach. She could see a name carved on one that laid half buried in the sand a few feet from her. Kaiya. Forgiveness. The fear that had filled her for over a year now slipped away replaced with certainty she hadn't felt in all those days or the months before. _'This will work.'_ The thought startled her, her steps faltering for a moment, and she wondered for a moment if she had said it out loud.

Neji's hand slipped to her waist, his fingers curving around her hips. "What's wrong?"

The worry in his voice was something only she and the other two members of Team Gai were allowed to hear. Stopping, she turned to look at him. His shoulders were stiff, held back in an overly-formal manner that she recognized as the way he held himself in front of the elders. It gave away his anxiety. He had dark circles under his eyes which only seemed to stand out even more due to the paleness of the already light skin and the hollowness in his soft lavender eyes. Even the darkness of his hair seemed to add to the effect, making him look more tired and more run down.

She hadn't really looked at him in months. She _couldn't_. It had hurt too much to see her pain echoed in his face. He hadn't cried the way she had. When she'd been torn apart, when she'd had her strength ripped from her _he'd_ remained as stalwart as ever. There had been times she'd envied his ability to remain strong, moments she'd outright resented him for it because she felt weak, and days she had pitied him because of his need to hold onto it.

Now, looking at him, she finally understood. They were partners, they had been before they'd been lovers, before they'd been married. When she had thought she'd lost her strength he'd been right there beside her, holding her up.

"Nothing." For once she meant it. It wasn't some lie to make other people feel better or keep herself from feeling worse. "I just had a thought..." Tenten had never been afraid to speak her mind, not until a year ago, and she hesitated. Saying what she thought, speaking the hope that had crossed her mind with such certainty could jinx it.

Neji relaxed his shoulders, it extended to his eyes and his lips curved up in a very slight smile. "What was that?"

"Just..." She stopped, waiting for the fear to sneak up on her and overwhelm her again. It didn't and she wondered if the place really was magic the way the myths claimed. "That this will work."

He closed his eyes and nodded. "I thought the same thing."

"When you told me about this place I thought it was crazy." She had thought he was patronizing her. When he'd requested leave for them both from the village she'd gone along with it only because it was the anniversary and she knew couldn't take being _there_ , in the village with everyone's sympathy weighing her down, but she hadn't believed. The idea that writing a wish for a baby in the sand would do anything except get the person's hopes up had seemed ridiculous. The toys though, they were gifts given only after the wish had come true. The beach was covered with them and it made her wonder how she had ever doubted Neji. If he said something was true, then it was.

Neji's eyes lit with amusement and he shook his head at her. Releasing his hold on her, he gently pushed her towards the water again.

Picking her way through the toys, shells, and rocks, Tenten walked up to the large black rock. It looked like any other inkstone though the size was more than would be necessary even for the large brush she had. She estimated it to be nearly ten feet across and fifteen long. Water filled the reservoir and white salt crusted on the black stone.

The story was that the couple who had originally lived here had, after years of trying and several miscarriages, carved it as a show of their earnest wish for a child. Then they had written their prayer to the gods in the sand and waited. She'd had a child within a year.

She knew how they felt. To hope after such loss had seemed impossible, but somebody had done it once and if this place was evidence of that, then so many more had since. It made her feel less alone.

Tenten dipped the tip of her brush into the water and then carefully she stepped down into the soft sand beside it that had been cleared of debris and toys. Her heart caught for a moment and she realized they hadn't agreed on a name. She looked at Neji, who only smiled back at her, and wondered if she should ask him. The moment she lifted her foot to go to him, the name came to her and like the knowledge that it would work she knew. Her step changed and instead she stepped forward and pushed the bristles through the sand. Finishing it she stepped back and looked at it.

Neji came up behind her and slid both of his arms around her waist. "Kotori. I like it."

"Our little bird of luck." Tenten smiled and leaned into his embrace. The water would wash it away by morning, but she knew then they'd be back with a toy. In her heart she could see no other possible outcome.

-End-


	3. Lucky

Tenten leaned back against the tree, smiled, and rubbed her hand over her growing belly. The leaves and grass that rustled around her matched the sound of the edges of the papers fluttering against her fingers. A month apart seemed so much longer than it was when you were used to going with them. She was too far along now and she knew that. The last letter had been written over a week ago, but had only arrived that morning. 

_By the time you're reading this we should be home. It's a very lucky thing too because if I have to sit through one more of Gai and Lee's 'Ballad's to the Sea' I will throw one of them over._

She giggled thinking about it again, his sigh almost audible in the written words. It was easy to imagine the amused-- if slightly irritated look that Neji got whenever the two of them started. In some ways he had it harder than she did right then. Gai and Lee loved them but their idea of cheering Neji up was likely to drive him absolutely insane. It was easier when they were together to deal with their team mates.

At the same time she missed Gai and Lee so much it seemed unfair that he got to be with their team while she was stuck behind, alone. Tenten looked down at her stomach and smiled. Not _quite_ alone.

"I miss you, Neji." She whispered the words on a sigh, impatient to have him home and wishing he hadn't had to leave in the first place. There was a hard push against her fingers and she laughed. "Kotori, misses you too."

He was on his way though, she could feel it, likely sailing through the trees on his way there. He would come there first because it was where they always met whenever one of them had a mission the other didn't. This was their quiet little spot. Nothing particular made it stand out it was just one tree among hundreds of others just outside the walls, but... it was special. 

It had been there that she'd first kissed him and there that he'd first told her he loved her and there that they'd both rushed to after the fight with Pein just to make sure the tree still stood. It did. It was _there_ , that very spot that he would find her and neither of them ever had to tell the other because behind every ounce of love was the simple fact that they were best friends and knew each other better than anyone else.

Tenten smiled and lifted the letters again so she could read them for what had to be the hundredth time.

-End-


	4. Heroes

"Lee! Tell me where you hid them!" Tenten yanked yet another cupboard open and started pulling the contents out. They joined half the kitchen on the countertop.

"I cannot." Lee flipped the page in the book. "You stated that you did not wish to eat it all at once and instructed me to hide it; I am simply doing what you asked."

Tenten turned and threw the jar she was holding at him. "I don't care what I said five minutes ago! It was five minutes ago!"

Lee caught the jar before it could hit him or the wall and set it calmly down on the counter beside him. "You are not supposed to over-induldge in sweets and have already had three pieces of the daifuku; I do not think it is wise to eat more."

"I--" She threw a plate at him. "--don't--" A cup was launched second. "--care--" The half empty soy sauce bottle was flung next. "--what--" Another, smaller plate flew from her fingers. "--your--" Two small bowls followed; one in each hand. "--stupid--" A jar of mashed peas found her hand and the air next. "--girlfriend--" The random kunai she'd found on top of the fridge left her other hand. "--said! Give me my daifuku, NOW!" Tenten glared and let an irritated breath out of her nose.

Each of the items was caught deftly in one hand and set down next to the jar and the other items she had thrown at him in her screaming fit of a search. "Sakura-chan-"

"I don't care what she said!" Tenten screamed, cutting him off and throwing a tea kettle at his head.

Lee caught the tea pot, but had to lean back to keep it from smacking him in the face as the weight and momentum swung it on the handle. "But-"

"Lee." Neji stepped into the kitchen. "Gai-sensei is back with the paint, if you intend to help you may want to get in there before he finishes."

The wide brown eyes grew even larger and Lee flew out of the kitchen, tea pot still in hand. He returned a few second later, set it down, and disappeared once more. "Sensei! I had the most youthful idea!"

Tenten scowled at Neji. "Why did you tell him that before he told me where my daifuku is?" she growled, picking a small black chopstick holder up from the counter, intending to throw it if she didn't like his answer.

Neji smiled, opened one of the lower cabinets, bent down, and reached inside. "Lee pays very close attention to the way a person moves." He pulled the box of daifuku out and handed it to Tenten. "You can't even pull your shoes on anymore. It was that or put it up high and he is _very_ over-protective so he wouldn't try putting it up out of your reach since you might try something dangerous like walking up the walls."

"I would not," she pouted, opening the box and popping one in her mouth. She sniffled and eased herself into a chair.

Neji walked over and rubbed her neck lightly with one hand. "What's wrong?"

"I'm not crying." She sniffed again. "It's just--" her voice broke slightly, "--him looking out for me even though I'm so mean to him and you..." Tears leaked from her eyes. "I really like daifuku." It hadn't been what she'd meant to say. Not exactly. Neji had made them for her the night before when she'd woken up thinking of nothing else. She didn't even know where he'd gotten the strawberries as late as it had been, and by the time he'd finished she'd already fallen asleep again. "And Gai-sensei and the baby bed and just--" she rubbed at her eyes and ate another piece of the mochi covered fruit. "--everything." It wasn't that she was being over-emotional and she didn't really have a lot of weird cravings or act like she thought a pregnant woman was supposed to act, but they were all being... them and they were her family and her heroes for so many reasons she couldn't put it to words. Especially Neji. She couldn't think of a single food stall that had strawberries for sale right then and he wouldn't tell her how he'd gotten them and she loved him that much more for it.

"Ah." Neji leaned over and kissed the top of her head. "If you let them see you cry they'll start."

Tenten giggled and wiped her tears, knowing it was true.


	5. Good Night Kiss

Tenten knew Neji had a soft side, one he hid from most of the world. She knew because she'd seen it.

She saw it when he ate the anniversary dinner at his parents grave. Even in the early days, before he and his uncle had learned to understand each other, the anger in his eyes was always replaced with a soft aching sadness when he sat before the stone with two names carved in it. He hadn't invited her, not exactly. Out of concern she had trailed after him, thinking he didn't know. When he sighed, stood up, then walked over and dragged her out from behind the tree she had thought he would yell at her or send her away. Neji surprised her though and introduced her to his parents as his new team mate. Every year after he had simply waited for her at the training grounds before walking with her to the memorial dinner.

She saw it whenever he was with little kids. When their team had been assigned to babysit the children of shinobi out on missions she had fully expected to see a scowl to rival that of Sasuke's. Nothing of the sort had happened though. Lee had taken the boys and challenged them to an arm wrestling contest of all six of them against him at once while she and Neji sat down with the girls. The littlest one had pulled out a book, dragged it over, sniffed, wiped her nose on her sleeve, and then promptly sat in Neji's lap. She had offered to do one of the older girls' hair and that had immediately led to two others doing hers and a third doing Neji's. It was hard not to giggle while watching the frilly bows and baubles being tied rather messily into his hair. When he had looked up at her and smiled her heart beat hard in her chest, cheeks burned, and any thought she had of giggling was gone.

She saw it when he looked at her on their first date. Never in all the years she'd known him could she say she had ever seen him nervous so it was hard to know for a moment if that was what she was seeing. Tenten had never seen him blush, had never heard him falter when he spoke, had never seen him break eye contact and look aimlessly at anything except her, and she had never even imagined him doing any of that. All she had done was take her hair down, put on a dress, and apply a very small amount of make-up.

She saw it on their wedding day. It was there in the care he took when he slid the ring on her finger, in the soft, nearly chaste kiss, in the gentle but firm hold he had on her hand at the tea ceremony, and in every other precious moment of that day. She had never felt so treasured as she did when he'd held her while she cried because of all of it. It would have made her feel weak if she hadn't looked up and seen the glistening dampness of unshed tears in his eyes. Strangely, it had surprised her when he'd leaned forward and whispered in her ear that she was the strongest, most beautiful kunoichi he knew. It was biased, they both knew it, and she loved him for saying anyway even if no one else heard a word of it.

Nobody saw the side of Neji that she saw. Nobody was allowed to. Tenten wasn't quite sure why she had been given the honor, but when she watched her husband kiss their new baby girl good night before laying her softly into the bassinet, she was glad she had.


	6. Crib

Gai and Lee had made it for them so of course it was green. To Neji's surprise it was a muted shade. Flowers and vines climbed over the bars, carved into the wood with each blossom painted with blues, pinks, and oranges. The headboard had birds and clouds soaring in blue skies above trees and grass. It outstripped his expectations, which had been that it would be horrible and he would hate it, and still managed to encompass everything his teacher stood for.

Hinata had sewn sheets and blankets for it with the help of Hanabi and strangely enough his uncle. It had surprised him, though he thought now that it shouldn't have, that his uncle had been the originator of his own baby blanket. Neji wondered if they had talked to Gai about the crib, because the colors they chose for the blankets seemed to be perfectly matched, or if it was strictly a coincidence caused by not knowing the sex of the baby.

The gifts spoke of family for more than the obvious reason. Family, he had thought for so many years, he didn't have.

The rocking chair had been him though. He had started it two years ago, the first time she'd been pregnant, and even after they had lost the baby he'd continued carving it. Between missions, when he needed to get away from the depressing atmosphere of their home in those long months after, and then with renewed passion when they'd conceived again. Somewhere, on a beach far away, there was a small bird that had been carved from the same wood.

Tenten was curled up in the chair, their baby in her arms. The long, brown hair, she normally kept up in buns, draped messily over her shoulders and the baby.

Neji walked over, brushed her hair back, and scooped his daughter up.

"Huh, wah..." Tenten mumbled, blinking her deep brown eyes at him and blindly reaching towards him and the baby.

"Shh." He leaned over and kissed her forehead. "I'm just going to put her to bed."

Nodding sleepily, Tenten dropped her arms, pulled the blanket in her lap up around her, and slipped off to sleep again.

Chuckling softly under his breath he stepped over to the crib and laid their little girl down gently. "The sun is coming up so of course _now_ you're tired. Now, Kotori, I'm taking your mom to bed and you're going to let her sleep for awhile before you wake her up again, alright?" He tucked her stuffed turtle next to her and brushed his hand over the soft brown curls. "I love you, my little bird."

Turning back to Tenten he slid one arm under her legs and the other behind her back then lifted her and the blanket out of the chair.

She yawned and tucked her head against his shoulder. "I should get up."

He shook his head at her. "You're going to sleep."

"But... sun's up... training... Gai-sensei..." The words weren't all there but the meaning was.

"Even he will understand if I want to keep you at home in bed for the day after the fifth all-nighter in a row." She'd been handling almost everything with the baby the last few days since he'd had missions that had kept him busy during the day and had refused to let him take the nights. Stubborn as she was he had let her keep them because he knew how much it meant to her and how hard it was for to be away from their daughter.

Shifting Tenten in his arms, Neji looked over his shoulder at the crib and smiled. Putting his girls to bed was becoming an early morning routine. He clicked the light off. It was a good routine.


End file.
